16 July 2011

Linen Suits for Glorious Goodwood races.


Alas Royal Ascot is over for another year, but hard on its heels is Glorious Goodwood, providing everyone with another reason to don their glad rags. Dates are 26th - 30th July.
With Ascot, it was all about being ‘dapper’ in your formal morning attire, now it’s the turn of the quintessential summer English gentleman look in a light linen suit and Panama hat.

Unlike the morning suit in Ascot’s Royal Enclosure, the wearing of linen suit is not obligatory to enter in to Goodwood’s Richmond Enclosure. But it is a tradition that caught on ever since the trend setter King Edward VII wore one (and a Panama hat) in 1906. 
M&S Collezione linen blend suit

Linen suits will give you a casual chic look when dressed down with t-shirts, polo shirts, light wool sweaters and open necked shirts. But for Goodwood the dress code for the Richmond Enclosure is a jacket worn with a tie, cravat or polo neck sweater, so you need to wear a shirt and tie with your linen suit.
M&S Collezione collection have a range of pure linen and linen blend suits. The beauty of linen blend is the suit has the appearance of linen but doesn’t crease as easily.
The above image we have M&S Collezione linen blend blazer (£99) and trousers (£49.50) in an almond shade and worn with their Blue Harbour white t-shirt £6. But for Goodwood replace the t shirt with a shirt and tie.
Details of suit: Jacket -2 button fastening, notch lapel, 5 button cuff, front flap pockets. 50% linen, 28% silk and 22% cotton. Trousers- straight leg, on the waist, single pleat, rear pockets with button detail. www.marksandspencer.com
Goodwood's Horse Gallop ties
 
Get really in to the horse racing mood with one of Goodwood’s Horse Gallops tie at £70.  They are pure silk tie with detailed weave of a racing horse at £70. Colour choices are gold, navy, lime,lavender and pink.

The wearing of light coloured linen suits became popular in the Victorian era when gentlemen travelled abroad and wanted to look well dressed and elegant whilst keeping cool in the sweltering heat.  Linen was ideal as this natural fabric is loosely woven allowing air to circulate freely and the skin to keep cool.  Plus it suits a looser fit style which is more comfortable in hot sticky climates than the more tailored suits and is great for most body shapes.
Karl Jackson at Debenhams
 
The stone colour of Debenham’s Karl Jackson linen 2 button suit £130 is a light shade which won’t show the dirt as much as the creams and whites, plus will look great paired with shirts in most hues.  You could opt for the crisper clean look of a white shirt; an elegant tonal look with creams, ivory and beiges; a cool chic look with pastels or the statement look with bold brights.
Details of suit: Single breasted, notch lapel, 3 button cuff. Left and right straight pockets plus breast pocket, side vents, 100% linen, lining polyester.  www.debenhams.com
If you opt for the white, cream or beige shirt, add a touch of colour with your tie.

The more popular colours for linen suits at Goodwood are the neutral creams, beiges and taupes.

Stvdio Jeffe banks at Debenhams
So stand out from the crowd in your Stvdio Jeff Banks light blue linen suit (£135) from Debenhams. www.debenhams.com .
Pachacuti's Fedora Llano weave Panama hat
Team with Pachacuti’s Fedora Llano weave grade 8 and its luxury teal silk band £139.  The Llano weave is a flexible durable herringbone weave and the teal silk band is made in Devon by UK’s last remaining silk band specialist mill. www.panamas.co.uk

Charles Tyrwhitt Liberty tie
Wear the suit with a white or cream shirt and either a floral or paisley patterned tie to complement the embossed pattern on the silk band of the hat. Charles Tyrwhitt blue and green cotton Liberty ditsy floral handmade tie says ‘English summer’.  100% cotton in a genuine Liberty design fabric. Was £70 now £19.95 www.ctshirts.co.uk
House of Fraser
This Paul Smith cream double breasted linen jacket £550, worn with Kenzo cream linen trousers £170, may not be an actual linen suit, but still looks the part of the English gent.  Unfortunately the Kenzo cream granddad collar t-shirt (£79) won’t pass the dress code for the Richmond Enclosure so go more dapper with a white shirt and coloured flamboyant cravat. The double breasted blazer and cravat are a winning combination.  www.houseoffraser.co.uk 

And don't forget to team with your Panama Hat - see tomorrow's article for more details 
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5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the info and cool pics. I would like to add that Linen gives you style and has the character of high tensile strength, when freed from the impurities it is highly absorbent and absorbs the perspiration very quickly. It is stiff fabric, very cool when hot and warm during winter, does not stretch and resistant to damage while abrasion and really comfortable.

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  2. Yeah I agree that linen has a fine resistance to damage, really comfortable and suited for warm and cold season. when going to office and some outdoor meeting I usually wear linen suits because of it's comfortable fabric and formality.

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  3. I recently came across your blog while searching latest trends for mens' wear its pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing ....

    Suits for men

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. It’s actually a great and useful post of info about the mens linen suits. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete